The present invention relates to image projectors and more specifically, to a projector with enhanced resolution via optical pixel sharing.
The recent years have seen a development in projector image quality, in terms of brightness, contrast and resolution. In some projectors, an image is projected by a light source stimulating a light modulator or sensor whose output is projected through an imaging lens. The output image is typically of lower resolution than the source image. The resolution of the output image is generally a factor dependent on the pixel size of a modulator reproducing the image. Greater resolution from one projector to the next is known to be accomplished by decreasing the pixel size within the sole modulator to provide higher pixel density. Higher pixel density decreases the amount of light “information” lost between the image source and the projected image. However, the relationship of cost with respect to decreasing pixel size in a modulator to provide improved resolution from that modulator may be linear. For example, the cost of a four Megapixel projector may be ten times that of a two Megapixel projector while resolution just doubles.
Accordingly there is a need for a projector system that provides a cost effective approach to increased resolution.